Somewhere Beyond The Sea
by Graysmog
Summary: Connor Delreick and his family have decided to move to Rapture, an underwater city with incredibly advanced technology. However, Connor and his family begin to discover the truth about the corrupted city, and Connor eventually finds himself on his own. With only his wits and a new friend by the name of Abigail, Connor must escape the treacherous city, and gain his destined revenge.


People said life in Rapture would be splendid. They said that you would see things beyond your wildest dreams, not able to comprehend what lay in wait for you. All I had heard the past few weeks was the miracles Rapture could provide for anyone who decided to live there. Apparently everything in the city was better, even yourself.

My Father was one who believed in such things. Mother and I did not wish to go, but with Richard already there, it was impossible to change Father's mind. It took us a week to pack, leaving the safety of England for some "miracle city" underneath the waves. Why should we bother? Father says Rapture is in need of an architect, yet their calling him? I suppose it's due to his years in the field, not many other architects have been around as long as him.

In all honesty though, I could care less. With the sudden move, I wasn't able to keep in contact with anyone I was familiar with. All of my friends would be gone forever, just like last time, and the time before that.

Richard had mentioned he might bring "a friend or two". I had a feeling that he meant to bring Susanna. Susanna was one of his many girlfriends he had wooed over the past few years, and she seemed to be like the rest, scrounging for the money lining his pockets. She had tried acting nice to me to get on my parents good side, but even I could see through her charade. I remember when Susanna and I were left alone after Richard was forced to work rather early. She wasn't much more than a powdered statue the entirety of the time, hardly saying a word or even paying any attention to me whatsoever.

Father asked me to sit with him on the porch while the workers placed our belongings inside the train. The train was an older means of travel; we could have easily taken a plane. Unfortunately, my Father was terribly afraid of heights. Mother herself didn't adore them either, and had a hard time coping with the sudden change of altitude. I would have personally liked to travel inside a plane, being able to spot my home city below. I guess not every dream comes true.

After a few moments of silence, I noticed how large and well fit the men appeared to be, fruitlessly taking each trunk one by one. I hoped to be like that one day. With such large arms I could take Rapture and toss it back on land, where it belonged. I could tear each building apart, piece-by-piece, like a child with hard spaghetti. I could…

Father suddenly gestured to me, snapping me out of my imagination. It was a habit I had taken upon ever since I started school, drifting off into whatever thoughts that came to me. He placed a firm, worn hand on my shoulder. He smiled. I loved Father when he smiled, whenever he did I always felt that his large yellowed teeth would wriggle out of his mouth, running away to cause mischief. Afterwards, he would run after them, attempting to catch them as he tripped over his own feet.

"Connor, I know this move has been hard on you."

I looked straight at his dark brown eyes, right behind the thin lens of his glasses. I felt slightly jealous at them; his were perfect yet mine were not. One eye was a dark, settled green, the other a bright, luminescent blue. Mother used to say there was nothing wrong with me that my differently colored eyes were, as she put, "an adoring mistake." I never quite understood what she meant.

"I was moved to and fro when I was a child as well. My guardians never really settled into any home they chose."

He patted me on the back, the itchy fabric of my shirt grinding against my skin once again. I hated the sensation. 'Why must I be forced to wear this accursed thing?', I thought. The shirt was very fancy, striped and long sleeved. The vest I wore was a dark brown, bashing colors with the shirt, which was blue. The only comfort I could find would be to remove the tag, when no one was looking.

"You just have to understand that, even though we might be moving again, it's for the better. I promise you that you will make many more friends than ever before." Father adjusted his glasses, pushing them up against his nose with his index finger.

He continued. "Thanks to Rapture, we will finally be able to live the way we always dreamed, with a fire in the living room and a television at our bedside."

He sat up as Mother finally came up to the porch. She gave Father a quick hug as she asked me to stand. Following her, we ended up right in front of the conductor, his large beard covering most, if not all, of his face. Mother opened her purse and handed the man her ticket. He took out a tool similar to forceps, with a few circles on the inside of the tip. Stamping a number of holes into it, he gave the ticket back to Mother and let us enter the train. Father would have to ride a few cabins behind us; he wasn't able to reserve a spot for himself. I felt sorry for Father; he would have no one to talk to the entire eight hours of the journey. At least Mother was a good listener; she loved hearing my ideas for new contraptions and gadgets. You could say I was following in my Fathers' footsteps to a certain degree. While he loved to make pictures, I loved cobbling together bits of metal and wire. My favorite invention was my Grabber, as I liked to call it. It was a foldable rod with two metal claws at the front, with a trigger on the bottom that was attached to two pieces of string. While holding the trigger, the claws would open up as long as you wanted, letting the trigger go would cause the claws to clamp shut. I found it amusing to grasp tiny objects with it, such as a pebble or a tin can.

As Mother and I found our seats, I found myself looking out the window by my side. Hundreds of people had their hands out of their own windows, shaking them wildly to anyone nearby. I suppose they were their family members, the people they were forced to leave behind. They all smiled, some even cried, others simply waved back. I wondered how Richard was in Rapture; he hadn't sent a post card since February. It was June, and it worried me. Mother said there wasn't much communication to the outside world in Rapture, mainly due to everyone not wishing to give out the secrets of such a city. I suppose I understood, yet I was still disappointed.

I lay back in my leather seat, my back still itching due to the vest and shirt. I hated the feeling even now, but I was too tired to care anymore. Placing all of my belongings in several tiny trunks was exhausting, and I hadn't had much sleep. The night before a fisherman by the coast was rumored to have been murdered. He had several lacerations across his back and chest, it almost seemed as though an animal attacked him. I didn't understand how, there were hardly any sharks by England's coast, if any, and the markings were closely related to a crocodiles' claws. It made me think of the "alligators in the sewers" rumors that surfaced around my school.

As my head lay against the soft, cushioning felt of the seat I found myself drifting off, imagining myself to be the size of a giant. I tore everything down in my path; even the largest pine trees could not stand my might. I hollered to the sky, sending many birds aloft. I grasped the clouds above me, forcing them into my mouth. They seemed to taste just like marshmallows, with their overly fluffy texture. I ran through the empty field, flinging up soil and rocks. I tore off my vest with one arm and ripped off my irritating shirt with the other. I laughed heartily, flinging both objects across the room so hard that they went over a series of mountains and disappeared.

I awoke with a start, the train had stopped. Mother had helped by shaking me awake. I rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes as we left the tram. Mother smiled and waved to Father, who was waiting with his luggage on a bench ahead of us. He walked over to us, and picked me up. I was surprised, my Father wasn't very strong, yet e had no trouble at all. At least for a moment, anyways. He placed me down after hugging me, obviously winded.

Mother suddenly crouched down, right by my ear. "Connor, you must understand that we cannot talk about Rapture in public. Hold your tongue, and be polite, alright?"

I nodded. "Okay Mother."

Mother took my hand in hers and we walked out of the subway with Father. It was nighttime, and without Mother's hand guiding me, I would have fallen much more often. It only took us a few moments to find the spot. Our guide was a very large man, his belly stretching over his belt. He had a sailor's cap on his head, with a pipe in one hand. He placed the pipe in his hand, lit it, and took a whiff.

"So, I suppose yer the..." He stood there for a moment, taking a note out from his pocket. His fingers looked like giant sausages trying to grasp a tissue, and failing. I stifled my laughter.

"Delreicks, correct?"

Father nodded, holding out his hand to shake the other mans. As they shook hands, our guide described himself as Marcus Zinng. He used to be a regular fishermen until he personally found Rapture. Luckily, he had managed to strike a deal with the towns "mayor" by being Rapture's own travel service. He didn't mind it all, but he always got irritated when people were seasick.

"Welp, with greetings out of the way, I suggest 'ya get yer things and start loading up, we have a big day ahead of us." Looking down, Marcus smiled to me. Despite his overwhelming height (he was taller than Father by two feet), he was still incredibly nice. I liked him. With Marcus' help we finally unloaded all our things onto the boat. It took us only a few minutes, but the sudden downpour of rain had us scampering for cover afterwards. I was soaked, my short blonde hair sticking to the sides of my head. Marcus offered me a towel, and we set off.

I hadn't even dried myself off completely before I heard a whisper. It was a very confusing whisper, so low that it seemed to not be there. I stood up, walked out of my cabin, and came into the upper decks, where Marcus was steering. He had been whispering "Somewhere Beyond The Sea" gayly as he moved his arms left and right. He noticed me standing there, but it took him a good ten minutes.

"Aye, if it isn't the little lad. What are ye doing up here?, there's no sweets I've got stowed away." He looked over to me, noticed my saddened face, and spoke again. "Ey lad, what's wrong? With that kind of face, I'm surprised yer chin hasn't touched the floor yet." I laughed a little at that.

I thought for a moment, not sure exactly what to say. I wasn't used to being "put on the spot" so to speak. "I...I never really wanted to go to Rapture. It seems nice and all, but I just don't feel right going...it feels like my mind is yelling at my body to stop, yet it never does."


End file.
